(LEAD) Moon urges 'bold action' to seize peace opportunity

(ATTN: CHANGES headline; UPDATES throughout with Moon's remarks; ADDS photo)

SEOUL, Sept. 30 (Yonhap) -- President Moon Jae-in said Monday the clock for peace on the Korean Peninsula has begun to tick and called for determination and bold action to seize the chance, citing a speedy move by Washington and Pyongyang to resume nuclear talks.

He also presented his longer-term vision once again for an international peace zone and special economic district in and near the Demilitarize Zone (DMZ) as he met new members of the National Unification Advisory Council (NUAC).

"The step toward North Korea-U.S. working-level negotiations to prepare for a third North Korea-U.S. summit is getting quicker," he said during the meeting at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae.

He added, "The clock that points to the era of denuclearization and permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula is moving again."

Moon stressed the importance of "wisdom, determination and bold action not to miss the timing."

On his New York visit last week, Moon said he had talks with U.S. President Donald Trump on "substantive ways" for peace on the peninsula. He also used a keynote speech at the U.N. General Assembly to put forward a proposal to turn the DMZ into an international peace zone.

If North Korea carries out denuclearization measures with sincerity, South Korea and the intentional community should respond with a "corresponding" action to build mutual confidence, according to Moon.

"By having the international community participate in activities inside the DMZ, the South and the North will be able to guarantee security mutually," he added.

He also set an ambitious goal of creating international "special economic" districts in the vicinity of the DMZ once it's transformed into a U.N.-backed peace zone.

Moon requested full support from NUAC members for the bid to host the 2032 Olympics both in Seoul and Pyongyang.

During his latest meeting with International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach on the sidelines of the U.N. meeting, the IOC chief promised to cooperate with the initiative.

Moon quoted Bach as saying that, "Contributing to peace on the Korean Peninsula is a mission of the IOC."

NUAC, a constitutional advisory panel chaired by Moon, has had many of its members changed. Jeong Se-hyun, a former unification minister, assumed the post of executive vice chairperson on Sept. 2.

It has more than 19,000 members at home and abroad, and around 450 of them attended the Cheong Wa Dae meeting.

They initially intended to hold a large-scale meeting at the KINTEX convention center in Goyang, a city just northwest of Seoul, involving more than 10,000 members. But they have decided to scale it down amid the outbreak of African swine fever in the nation.

lcd@yna.co.kr
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